The Problem with Ackerman
by ScarletRedfox
Summary: Levi notices peculiar things concerning the soldier capable of matching him in strength and fitting the title "Humanity's Strongest". After his patience ran thin, he finally decided to confront the stubborn young woman that was Mikasa Ackerman. "And finally, when he saw her eyeing her hair far too suspiciously with a calculated, thoughtful look on her face and actually looking at-


**A/N: Hello dear readers!** Now this is only my second story dedicated to Levi (and first partly dedicated to Mikasa), I apologize for any OOCness concerning the characters and I would appreciate suggestions for improvement! Thanks! :)

 **INFO:** This **isn't** exactly **LeviMika (Levi & Mikasa)** it's more meant to lean on the **friendship** rather than romance between the two! But it's open for any and all interpretation!

 ** _Full Summary:_** Levi notices peculiar things concerning the soldier capable of matching him in strength and fitting the title "Humanity's Strongest". After his patience ran thin, he finally decided to confront the stubborn young woman that was Mikasa Ackerman. "And finally, when he saw her eyeing her hair far too suspiciously with a calculated, thoughtful look on her face and actually _looking_ at the razor next to her, he finally exploded.

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan, I merely own the plot!_**

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 **The Problem with Ackerman**

Levi rose an eyebrow at the way Mikasa wrapped her scarf around her mouth, similar to the cloth Levi had wrapped around his own mouth as they cleaned the windows.

He nearly choked on his tea when he noticed the way she was sitting next to him and holding her teacup, the same way he held his. Eyeing her suspiciously, he decided to ignore the very strange coincidence and enjoy his tea in peace.

He watched with narrowed eyes as she tried adjusting her blade, trying to hold it in the same reverse grip he always used to fight Titans. When she found her balance, she tried swinging it at a tree, frowning in displeasure as she couldn't focus her full strength into the hit due to the unused position of her blade and the strain on her wrist. He frowned, eyes burning holes into her back as she continued slashing at the tree, trying out different positions and using her momentum to swing at the tree at full speed, splitting the trunk in half but frowning at the slight ache in her wrist. He snorted.

He stared quietly, silently peeved, at the way the crude and blunt words left her mouth, adding a " _shit_ " or " _fuck"_ somewhere in her sentences while reprimanding Jean and Armin for doing something reckless.

He glowered darkly when he saw her training in the earliest morning hours, right when the sun peeked over the horizon, _his_ training hours. He watched with a mixture of displeasure and annoyance how she ran her tracks, did her squats and mercilessly aimed swift punches and kicks to a punching bag. Muttering under his breath, he walked back to his office, this called for tea.

And finally, when he saw her eyeing her hair far too suspiciously with a calculated, thoughtful look on her face and actually _looking_ at the razor next to her, he finally exploded.

Ignoring the fearful looks sent his way, he grabbed Mikasa's wrist, roughly pulling her away from a terrified looking Eren, who tried to protest at the rough manhandling of his childhood friend, but was promptly silenced by the scathing glare Levi had sent his way over his shoulder.

Nobody dared to stop the squad leader as he dragged the protesting young woman with him, Hanji even had the balls to suggestively smirk at them and giggle, winking at the furious Levi and confused and irritated Mikasa, who tried to call to Hanji for help, only for the mad woman to completely ignore her pleas and instead, send her another wink before skipping away, muttering something about 'Eren' and 'Titan'.

Levi felt her pull and tug, but using his superior strength, he hauled her along, his grip unrelenting until he finally reached his office but he froze just outside when he heard Mikasa ground out between clenched teeth, "You're hurting me,"

Immediately, he released her wrist, glancing back to see her rubbing it, before he pinched the bridge of his nose and expelled a long, drawn out sigh, turning to her once again as he opened the door, "Let's get inside," he motioned for her to go first and Mikasa obeyed, but not before glancing at him in confusion.

Levi sighed, " _Shit..."_ this would have been more awkward than he would have hoped. Gesturing for her to take a seat in front of his desk, Mikasa reluctantly did so, facing Levi as he sat at his desk calmly, his gaze boring straight into hers.

"Tea?" despite Mikasa shaking her head in the negative, Levi placed a cup in front of her, filling it with the dark unsweetened liquid, before pouring one for himself.

Eyeing her movements carefully, he saw her grip the handle of the teacup, as opposed to grabbing the rim around it like she did a few days ago. Taking a small sip from her tea, Levi began speaking when she set it down, "So, Ackerman, have you been feeling well lately?" his gaze narrowed, daring her to lie.

She answered calmly, "Yes, why do you ask, sir?" her own gaze narrowed slightly and Levi took another sip of his tea.

"I've noticed strange things concerning your...behavior in the past few days," moving his eyes away from his tea, they shot back up to hers, "Care to explain why you've been trying to imitate me?"

She didn't react like he hoped she would, with embarrassment and shyness, instead she scoffed, crossing her arms stubbornly, Levi rose an eyebrow.

"I was not imitating you, _captain_ ," she almost hissed his title at him but Levi showed no reaction, "I was trying to become a better soldier," she answered almost proudly.

Levi's eyebrow shot to his hairline, "Nearly cutting your hair and holding your cup the same way I do makes you a better soldier?" Please enlighten me," he tilted his head to the side, intrigued.

Mikasa's face burned slightly in embarrassment, fisting the material of her pants, "I..t-that..."

She froze when the chair screeched as Levi slid out of the space between his desk and chair, walking around it and toward her.

She closed her eyes, bracing herself, thinking he would hit her as she so often heard horror stories from Eren and the others.

However, instead, she felt a warm hand settle onto her head, briefly rubbing her scalp. Her face burned brighter at the very unfamiliar and uncharacteristic contact coming from none other than her ruthless squad leader.

Not knowing what to say or how to react, Mikasa waited, waited for him to finally _say something_ and thankfully he did.

"Changing your fighting style to hold your blade in the reverse grip doesn't suit everyone, moreover if you aren't accustomed to fight and hold the blade in that position, you may risk serious injury to your wrist, to the point of dislocating it." Her eyes widened, her entire body freezing up, "Furthermore, you should use my cleaning supplies since the ones you have are far from suitable to effectively clean the windows or scrub the dirty floors, use a new rag for each new object you clean, a special cloth for cleaning windows and another one for the floors and always keep them apart." She listened intently, too stunned to move, shove his hand away which was still resting gently on her head or interrupt him.

She bit her lip and finally, Mikasa admitted quietly, but loud enough for Levi to hear, "I want to be useful," pausing in his explanations on the importance of refilling cleaning supplies, Levi looked down at her head, "Your leg...it's because of me you were injured,"

Levi snorted, "Tch, stupid brat, I'm fine now aren't I?" he shook his head, "Besides, it was my choice, I could have let you get punched by the Female Titan-"

She had the guts to interrupt him, "-but you didn't," mildly surprised at her short outburst, he chose to listen to her, "I realized by beating up Eren back then in the courtroom saved his life and that all the time I spent hating you was wrong, since I owned you for saving Eren's life!" she clenched her fists, "I was not looking forward to repay you by injuring your leg that way!"

Levi's eyes widened for briefest of seconds, before he composed himself, roughly patting her head again, "Tomorrow, just after sunrise," he let his hand fall back to his side as he moved back to sit at his desk, staring at Mikasa's shocked expression.

"I'll show you how you can improve your speed and agility while fighting Titans. Your strength is impressive, but your actions are clumsy, more for the fact of your inexperience than a testament to your weakness. I can fill in what you lack in experience and you can make sure to repay me by not throwing yourself in situations where you carelessly endanger your life," his eyes met hers, "Understood?"

For a moment, both simply looked at each-other, before Mikasa lowered her head to stare at her lap and smiled a small smile, "...Understood, captain,"

Nodding in approval, Levi pushed her cup closer to her, "Good. Now drink your tea brat before it gets cold," lifting her head back up to see he had refilled her cup, her expression softened and she nodded, smiling as she sipped her warm tea.

Levi allowed himself a small smirk, hidden by the rim of his cup.

After all, he didn't mind sharing the title of 'Humanity's Strongest' with someone who could grow up to the challenge.

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 **Thank you for reading! Opinions are very much appreciated since this is only my second short story focused on Levi! I apologize for any OOCness between the characters! :)**


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